(if it helps this is the simplest quickest way to recreate the problem where my new receiver seems to be doing something after an hr. or so (sleep/screensaver/wallpaper). I've emailed the manufacturer but I'm wondering if there's perhaps a software alternative.

Windower crashes because vanilla FFXI tries to return to POL in an unusual way. Your only solution currently is virtual GFX (like DgVoodoo). Square Enix has previously stated that they don't consider this an issue.

Windower crashes because vanilla FFXI tries to return to POL in an unusual way. Your only solution currently is virtual GFX (like DgVoodoo). Square Enix has previously stated that they don't consider this an issue.

Isn't this a dx8 issue? or rather "functioning as designed" as the game was designed to crash when losing fullscreen so people wouldn't alt+tab in general and they never "fixed" it even when making a windowed option.

As to the OP: anything that causes you to lose directx fullscreen (unplugging a monitor, UAC, ctrl+alt+del in not ancient windows will all cause it, as said above dgvoodoo is a workaround, just don't put the settings too high or you'll randomly crash your video card driver.

I actually found a solution for turning my monitor off/on and not crashing the game in fully random way. I work from home and use remote desktop. I found out that when you are on full screen on remote desktop, FFXI doesn't crash when turning monitor off and on.

(if it helps this is the simplest quickest way to recreate the problem where my new receiver seems to be doing something after an hr. or so (sleep/screensaver/wallpaper). I've emailed the manufacturer but I'm wondering if there's perhaps a software alternative.